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Biography

Minneapolis, United States
(1995 – present)

Cloud Cult is an experimentalindie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota led by singer/songwriter Craig Minowa. Formed in 1995, the name originated from the ancient prophecies of indigenous North Americans

The band’s founder and singer Craig Minowa has a degree in Environmental Science, and his environmental, political, and social awareness is reflected in much of Cloud Cult’s music.
(Note: Craig Minowa actually has stated he intentionally doesn’t sing about environmental awareness because he lives it…he doesn’t need to preach it) The band’s self-created non-profit record label, Earthology Records, uses the most environmentally friendly methods available to ensure minimum damage to the environment.

After two solo LP’s, The Shade Project (1995), and Who Killed Puck? (2000), Minowa’s sudden loss of his two-year-old son and subsequent separation from his wife, Cloud Cult emerged with They Live on the Sun in 2003, combining concepts of Minowa with performances by cellist Sarah Young and drummer Dan Greenwood, who shortly became members of the band. This album was deeply personal and painful album for Cloud Cult and you don’t often hear songs from it in concert.

Minowa continued to use music to cope with the loss of his son on the following album Aurora Borealis. This album did begin to branch out more into exploration of pain and loss instead of just feeling it.

I can personally attest that the new songs sound awesome live. And they played all but three of them last night! The show had a lot of issues with pacing/momentum, truth to tell, but on a moment-to-moment basis it was still incredible. I may not have gotten that unbelievable uplift that I remember from their best shows, but I did get a newfound appreciation for the new album. I'll take it. Craig's face when he sings these new ones is so intense it's scary. Go see 'em if they're in town!!

I really love the aural space that Love carves out; it's their first truly cohesive album in terms of mood/sound, I think, or anyway their most coherent. Obviously eclecticism has served them beautifully in the past, and I'm not sure yet how these *songs* stack up against previous releases, but in terms of the atmosphere and depth of the music, I'm *really* feeling this new record!

Hmmm have been a fan of Cloud Cult Since Aurora, but I dunno, this just feels like a rehash of things they've done before. 1x1x1 has some sort of originality to it from a Cloud Cult history perspective. But yeah, dunno if I'm feeling this one yet.